Overhead conveyer



P 1929. M. MACDONALD OVERHEAD CONVEYER Filed Aug. 22, 1928 M 2 INVENTOR024,440 wad/ ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES MURDO MACDONALD, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

OVERHEAD CONVEYER.

Application filed August 22, 1928.

The present invention relates to overhead conveyors such as are used forconvey ng buckets of coal, ashes and various containers with products ofvarious kinds. Conveyers of the type shown herein are commonly used inbasements of buildings for transporting buckets of coal from the coalbins to the furnace room. But the uses of these overhead conveyers aretoo numerous to enumerate here. These conveyers usually comprisebrackets or hangers which are attached to overhead beams of the buildlngconstruction and at their lower ends the hangers carry a supportingrail, generally made of I beams, on the lower flange of which the wheelsor rollers of the traveling member of the conveyer are adapted to travelfor the transporting of the articles to be conveyed.

One of the serious objections to conveyers of this kind has been thatnoise is made by the wheels of the traveling member of the conveyer asthey travel over the flange of the supporting rail and as this latter isconnected by the metal hangers with the structure of the building, thesenoises, often amplified, are conducted to all parts of the building inwhich the conveyer is employed. This is especially objectionable whenthe conveyers are used in school buildings, hospitals and in fact it isobjectionable in almost all buildings.

It is diflicult to overcome the noise if the sounds are once conductedto the building structure because the floors, ceilings and even theframework of the building conduct the sounds to all parts and the soundsare amplified by these portions of the building, acting in the nature ofsound boards. It is not practical to employ rubber or fibre wheels onthe movable member of the conveyer because these rollers or wheels arenecessarily limited in size, partly by the limited space in which theytravel between the upper and lower flanges of the I beams or rails,which space can only be increased by making the beams or railsprohibitive in cost; and partly by the limited width of the flanges ofthe beams or rails. While such rollers made of sound insulating materialwill reduce the noise to a limited extent they wear out in a very shorttime.

The object of the present invention is to Serial No. 301,409.

provide simple means for preventing the sounds created by the rolling ofthe wheels or rollers on the beams or rails of the conveyer from beingtransmitted to any portion of the building structure, so that instead ofthe sounds being amplified and transmitted throughout the building theyare confined to the basement or wherever the conveyer is installed. Bypreventing the sounds or noises from being conducted to resonantportions of the building they are reduced, if not practicallyeliminated, and are rendered inoffensive.

I accomplish this result, while still permitting the use of metalrollers or wheels on the traveling member of the conveyer, so that theseare just as durable and dependable as in previous practice. I accomplishthe results herein described by introducing sound insulating material inthe assembly of the hangers by which the rails are supported from thebuilding structure. In the full embodiment of my invention this soundinsulating material is interposed between the sections of the hangers aswell as between the bolts which unite the members of the hangerstogether, and the sections of the hangers. All of the other desirablefeatures of the best types of hangers may be preserved and used inconjunction with the features of my invention so that the completedevice embodies all of these in addition to the sound eliminatingfeatures of my invention.

In the drawing plication,

Figure 1 is an elevation of one of the hangers used for supporting therail and embodying the features of my invention,

igure 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figure1, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing a portion of the completesupporting structure.

Conveyers of the type referred to herein are generally supported frompart of the structure of the building wherein the conveyer is installedand therefore the particular member of the structure may vary accordingto the building structure. So far as the present in e tion is concerned,how

forming part of this apever, present practice in all respects may befollowed in applying the device to the building structure. In thedrawing I have shown the conveyer structure applied to an I beam 1,which is an overhead or elevated member in the basement, cellar or otherpart of the building where the conveyer is to he installed; and thisbeam is generally a part of the building structure or frame.

The I beam or rail 2 is supported from the beam 1 as well as from otherslike it and it is the member on which the traveling member of theconveyor v(not shown). is adapted to travel in a horizontal path whichmay be a straight line or curved. The rail 2 is not always parallel withthe beam .1 but it may be at any angle in relation thereto, the hangersbeing adapted to connect the beams 1 and the rails 2 whether they areparallel or run at various angles in relation to each. other.

Generally, the rails 2 are disposed in the same horizontal planethroughout the system and the upper sections of the hangers are sochosen in regard to their length that the rails may be suspended fromthe beams 1 to permit them to be disposed in the same horizontal planethroughout without interfering with overhead objects such as steampipes.

water pipes and other objects. The hangers for the rails 2 in which thefeatures of my invention are incorporated are constructed as follows: 7

The upper section of each hanger, it being understood that many of thesehangers will be employed at any desired intervals in the conveyorsystem, is composed of a metal, U shaped member 3 comprising ahorizontal portion at and the two upright legs 5 connected to orintegral therewith. The spaced legs 5 each have an inturned flange 6,the flanges facing each other. The legs 5 are connected together by oneor more bolts 7 provided with a head 8 on one end and a detachable nut 9threaded on the other end,

the bolts passing through apertures in the respective legs of thesection. The legs 5 of thesection 3' are normally spaced apart tocorrespond approximately with the width of the lower flange 10 of thebeam 1. hen the hanger is to be applied to the beam 1 the legs 5 aretemporarily sprung apart to allow the flanges 6 to be passed over theouter edges of the flange 10 of the: beam 1 and when the spreadingpressure is released, the legs spring back so that they press againstthe edges of the flange 10 with the flanges 6 resting on the top surfaceof the flange 10. The bolt 7 is then placed through the apertures in thelegs 5 at a point below the beam 1 and the nut 9" is applied andtightened. This secures the hangerpor at least the upper sectionthereof, to the beam 1. In practice these upper sections of the hangersare made of different lengths whereas the lower sections are generallystandardized as to length, in order to support the rail 2 at whateverdistance from the beam 1 may be required by the particular conditions ofeach particular installation.

In some cases it may be necessary to support the rail 2 only a foot orso below the beam 1 whereas in other cases it may be necessary to placethe rail ten or more feet below the beam, either because the beam ishigh from the floor level or because the rail must be brought to a levelwhere it may pass under pipes and other obstructions. These differencesin the spacing of the rail and'beam may be taken care of, as in presentpractice, by making the upper sections of the hangers of a length tosuit the par ticular conditions.

The lower section of each hanger comprises a U shaped metal member 11composed of a horizontal portion 12 from which extend downwardly thelegs 13 so that the lower section of the hanger is similar to the uppersection except that it is inverted. At the lower ends of the legs 13there are intuirned flanges l lfacing toward each other and the bolt 15is adapted to be placed through aligning apertures in the two legs.Normally, the legs are spaced apart approximately the width of the upperflange 16 of the rail 2. When the lower section of the hanger is to beapplied tothe rail 2 the legs 13 are temporarily sprung apart to passover the flange 16 of the rail 2 and after they are released. of thespreading pressure the legs press against the side edges of the flange,

with the flanges 14 resting against the under surface of the flange 16of the rail 2 as shown in Figure 4. The bolt 15 is then ap plied throughthe apertures of the legs and the nut 17 isapplied and tightened andthis secures the lower section. of the hanger to the rail 2 v a Y Theupper section of each hanger and the lower section are connectedtogether by means of a bolt- 18 which passes through central aperturesin the horizontal portions 42,12, of the upper and lower sections asshown in Figure .2. The bolt 18 is here shown as having an integral head19 at one end and. having a nut 20 threaded on the other end. I haveshown metal washers 21 of considerable thickness engaged by the head 19'and the nut 20 to distribute the pressures throughout the horizontal.portions 4.. 12' of the hanger sections. It will be apparent that thebolt 18 permits the upper and lower sections of the hanger to be turnedon the bolt to correspond with the relative positions of the rail 2 andthe b'eaml. Y If the rail 2 and the beam 1 are parallel then the upperand lower sections of the hanger may lie in the same vertical plane butif the rail and the beam run at an angle to each other then the upperand lower sections of the hanger may be ad justed to correspond with theangle of the rail and beam respectively.

Heretofore, the upper and lower sections of the hanger as well as theconnecting bolt 18 were in metal to metal contact and therefore thenoises caused by the wheels or rollers of the traveling portion of thecon veyer traveling on the upper surface of the flange 22 of the rail 2were conducted by direct metal contact from the lower section of thehanger to the upper section thereof and from there the noises wereconducted to the beam 1 and then they were distributed through the wholeframework of the building, reaching even to the upper floors of tallbuildings. These noises were amplified by the various walls and ceilingsand they were especially objectionable where the conveyer passed near orthrough an air shaft. In the present case the upper and lower sectionsof the hangers and the connecting bolt are sound insulated from eachother, preferably as follows:

There is a sleeve 23 fitted around the shank of the bolt 18 and thisprevents the bolt from coming into direct contact with the upper andlower sections of the hanger. This sleeve is made of sound insulatingmaterial; that is, of material which will not conduct sound to anobjectionable extent; and for the purpose I prefer to make the sleeve offibre tubing. The sleeve 23 surrounds the shank of the bolt, as shown,and it also passes through the same apertures in the members 4, 12 asthe bolt. There is a washer 24 lying between the lower metal washer 21and the horizontal member 12 of the lower hanger section and it is alsomade of sound insulating material. I have shown this washer made ofrubber. It serves to insulate the metal washer 21 from the member 12 toprevent the conducting of sound vibrations between these members. Thereis another washer 25 disposed between the horizontal members 4, 12, ofthe two hanger sections and this is made of sound insulating material toprevent the conducting of sound vibrations between the two adjacentportions of the hanger sections. I have shown this washer made ofpressed or reconstructed cork. There is another washer 26 disposedbetween the horizontal member 4 of the upper hanger section and themetal washer 21 and this is shown as made of felt. While the materialshere named may be varied I prefer to make the washers of relativelydifferent sound absorbing ma terials as I believe the combined action ofdifferent materials will absorb more effectively the sound vibrations.But I do not intend to limit my invention to the use of any articularmaterials nor to the use of diffierent materials in the same device.

Preferably, the several washers 24-26 all fit over the sleeve 23 asshown in the drawing.

From the above it will be apparent that the sounds or noises created bythe action of the rollers or wheels of the traveling member of theconveyer on the flange 22 will not be transmitted to the upper section 3of the hanger and therefore they will not be transmitted to theframework of the building nor to any part of the building. The severalwashers and the sleeve 23 prevent metal to metal contact between theupper and lower sections of the hanger and between the bolt 18 and thesections of the hanger and any sound vibrations originating in the lowersection of the hanger are dissipated instead of being transmitted to thebuilding. the same time the hanger operates Just as effectively as inprevious practice and it is not necessary to depart from presentpractice in any manner except to provide the sound insulating members asherein described.

Having described my invention what I claim is:

1. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is' adapted to be supported and totravel, and means for suspendlng said rail from a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of sections, and meansfor connecting the sections together, and sound insulating materialinterposed between said hanger sections to prevent the conduction ofsound waves from said hangers to the said beam or support.

2. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is adapted to be supported and totravel and means for suspend ing said rail from a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of sections, means forconnecting said sections together, and sound insulating materialinterposed between said hanger sections and between said connectingmeans and the hanger sections, to prevent the conduction of soundvibrations from said hangers to the said beam or support.

3. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is adapted to be supported and totravel, and means for suspending said rail from a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of sections, a bolt forconnecting said sections together, a sleeve of sound insulating materialsurrounding said bolt to insulate it from said hanger sections and soundinsulatingmaterial interposed between said hanger sections to preventthe conduction of sound vibrations to the said beam or support.

4. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is adapted to be supported and to:travel, and means for suspending said rail trom a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of relatively inverted Ushaped members, a bolt passing through the cross members of saidsections to secure thehanger sections together, a sleeve of soundinsulating material surrounding said bolt to insulate it from saidhanger sections, and sound insulating material interposed between saidhanger sections, to prevent the conduction of sound vibrations to saidbeam. or support.

5. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is adapted to be supported and totravel and means for suspending said rail from a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of sections, a boltpassing through said sections to secure them together, a sleeve of soundinsulating, material surrounding said bolt to-insulate it from saidhanger sections,

a sound insulating washer interposed between the hanger sectlons, andsound insulating washers interposed between the head and nut of saidbolt and the hanger sections to prevent sound vibrations beingtransmitted from said rail to said beam or support.

6. In a conveyer of the class described the combination of a rail onwhich a movable conveying member is adapted to be supported and totravel, means for suspending said rail from a beam or support,comprising hangers each composed of a plurality of sections ofsubstantially U shaped members relatively inverted as to each other, abolt passing through the cross members of said sections to secure thesections of the hanger together, a sleeve of sound insulating materialsurrounding said bolt, a washer of sound insulating material interposedbetween adjacent portions of the hanger sections, and Washers 01" soundinsulating material interposed between the head and nut of said bolt andthe cross members of said hanger sections, said sleeve passing throughsaid several washers.

Signed at the city, county and State of New York this 17th day ofAugust, 1928.

. MURDO MACDONALD.

